Project management practices
Introduction
Heathrow has been a prominent airport connecting people across the globe since 1946, making it the world’s busiest airport. The attempts made to improve the functionality of this airport lead to the investment of £11 billion in 2003, representing one of the huge private investment made by the UK in infrastructure in the quest of improving its economic growth following the increasing demand of airport transport by non-EU countries as shown in Figure 1. Under this programme, various terminals have been developed, as shown in Figure 6. Because of this investment, new terminals, Terminal 2 and 5 have been expansively refurbished, improving other terminals, which has caused huge improvements to the airport as illustrated in Figure 2 (Airport Technology 2016)[1]. As such, this report discusses the important project management practices that have been used in the development of these terminals and their impact on the entire project.
Figure 1. Non-EU countries using Heathrow Airport (Heathrow 2011)
Figure 2. Number of Flights in Heathrow Airport (Heathrow 2011)
Programme Development of Heathrow Airport
The goal of Heathrow is to improve the entire airport by developing its terminals as well as establishing new ones. By making these developments, the Heathrow Airport aims at improving the customers’ experience with this airport by making a quicker arrival, better connection, as well as smoother departure (Airport Technology 2016)[2]. Besides, Heathrow aims at improving the terminals by investing £900 million into the project aimed at expanding and improving the experience and the baggage system following the failure experienced at Terminal 5. The improvements made at this airport is to ensure that Heathrow remains as the busiest airport in Europe and handle a high number of passengers and cargo. In this case, the airport’s board has majored in improving its terminals as a way of improving the operation, performance, and experience of the customers in this airport.
BAA Strategy and How Terminal 2 Meets Them
The British Airports Authority (BAA) has a key role in developing modern airport facilities. Most of these facilities are achieved by improving the central search in the airport as well as the immigration hall. The development of the Terminal 2 is one of the moves that BAA made to ensure that it has developed the modern and improved airport facilities. After the completion of the 2003 investment, Terminal 2 started the redevelopment process in 2009 where it was closed to make way for further development (Airport Technology 2016).[3] The commencement of this project clearly identified the period and budget as well as the scope that the entire project would consume. Thus, the development of Terminal 2 ran for four years, from November 2009 to November 2013, which marked its closure (Airport Technology 2016). Further, this project consumed a total of £ 2.5 billion, which fitted the costs of all project deliverables. This investment is in line with the goals of BAA that significant sums should be invested in developing the airport to improve the performance of the airports.
Another strategic objective of BAA is to improve the performance of Heathrow airport as a way of establishing a competitive advantage in the airport industry by taking Heathrow to a better position among competitors as shown in Figure 3 (Heathrow 2011).[4] With this goal, the BAA aims at improving Heathrow Airport in possible ways to ensure that it is the best airport in Europe compared to others. One of the major moves used to achieve this goal is by solving problems associated with passenger traffic (BAA Limited 2009).
Figure 3. Performance of Heathrow Airport compared to others in Europe (Heathrow 2011)
The construction of the Terminal 2 is an effective move that Heathrow has made to achieve this goal. The new Terminal 2 comprises a five-storey building known as Terminal 2A together with a 522m-long pier known as Terminal 2B, which runs parallel to the major building (Airport Technology 2016). These Terminals assist in handling the passenger traffic in that there is a four-storey car park facility that can accommodate 1,300 vehicles. Besides, Terminal 2A comprises of 12 boarding gates that open for ten aircraft to ensure that passengers can take small flights. Besides, Terminal 2B contains 14 boarding gates with 14 aircraft stands present as shown in Figure 5 (Airport Technology 2016)[5]. The two terminals are connected using a passenger underground tunnel. For the passengers wishing to move from one terminal to the other, they use the central enclosure situated between the main building and the car pack using escalators and lifts. This, in turn, solves the problems that can result from the passenger traffic while at the same time improving the passenger’s experience of using the airport.
Risk management is another goal of BAA for the Heathrow Airport. To achieve this goal, BAA has identified a team of highly skilled individuals who implement and manage risks following the BAA Group’s guidelines (BAA Limited 2009)[6]. As such, the vision of the risk management under BAA Groups is to entrench consciousness of risk at all stages of the firm in facilitating the decision-making process. In this case, the emphasis is laid on the security and safety, financial, commercial, legal, and reputational risks in pursuing the strategic framework. This is a key awareness that BAA portrays about the running and implementation of a project. The Project Management Institute (2013) claims that a risk is an event that can either cause positive or negative impact on the objective of the project[7]. As such, the success of a project depends on how well the organization identify and document the potential risks associated with the project. In response to this requirement, Terminal 2 took the precautions of avoiding the mistakes done by other projects involving the establishment of the Terminals in Heathrow Airport such as Terminal 5 by carrying the risk assessment test (Airport Technology 2016)[8]. By understanding the potential risks with high priorities, Terminal 2 was not instantly opened after its completion. Instead, it was subjected to operational test and trial before being opened to the public. This was done as a way of responding to the fact that most of the projects involving Terminals fail during their closure despite being aware of all the potential risks.
Management of Terminal 2 Project
Upon the completion of the Terminal 2 project, it was renamed as Queen’s Terminal. Seeking the success of this project the basic project aspects, cost, time, and scope were determined. The determination of these factors was important in leading the project to success. By understanding the expected outcome of the project, the scope of the project was identified, which later dictated the cost and time that the project would take to reach its full functionality. The project, in this case, was to reduce the passenger’s traffic by improving the checkpoints in the airport. As such, a project worth $4.1bn was established that ran for four years to yield an advanced Terminal 2, which was an improvement of the existing terminal (Airport Technology 2016).
Before the commencement of the project, the project manager understood the essence of this project. Through a critical understanding of the stakeholders of the project, the project manager ensured that the project would least disturb other operations taking place at the airport. The Project Management Institute (2013) outlines that stakeholders are the people who will be directly influenced by the project either its decision, outcome, or the activities of the project.[9] The attempt of ensuring that the project would least impact its stakeholders, Bowen Construction Ltd were the successful bidder who ensured that in November 2010 both level 1 and 2 of the car part were completed and opened (Airport Technology 2016). This was an effective step made by this company to ensure that the operations of the airport would not be adversely affected.
Another aspect considered when running the Terminal 2 project to success was the required resources. According to Kerzner (2009), a resource in a project refers to the essential items required for completing the project.[10] These resources have a substantial role in leading the project to success as they determine the cost of the project. As such, the project manager should identify the appropriate resources with the substantial resources being human resources, financial resource together with other relevant resources required in the project execution. In the case of Terminal 2 project, the project manager recycled or reused the existing materials of the old Terminal 2. Moreover, Terminal 2 received the funds from the investment programme initiated in 2003 to modernize Heathrow Airport (Airport Technology 2016). Kerzner (2009) asserts that infrastructural and technological resources are important in leading a project to success.[11] The location of Terminal 2 project was situated in an airport implying that communication and transport facilities were excellent. Besides, Mott MacDonald won the tender for ICT system of the project. This company provided a future innovation plan that the Terminal would use to add the value of the client’s experiences. Working closely with the Heathrow Airport ICT manager, Matt MacDonald provided support and advice of the appropriate ICT skills and resources required to lead the project to success (Mott MacDonald 2016).[12]
Lessons Learned from Terminal 5 and How They Were Used in Terminal 2
Brady and Davies (2010) note that Terminal 5 was one of a dream come true projects for the Heathrow Airport.[13] The project was meant to make a historical event that would have solved challenges faced in the Heathrow Airport. Such confident remarks concerning this mega-project were made following the fact that it was on time and budget in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The project plan for the Terminal 5 was followed and the project manager in charge of this project met all the project requirements inclusive of the project initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and project control to successfully close the project. However, the team missed out on the last of the project closure where two weeks after being opened, disaster stroke. The disaster lead to increased chaos from the passengers who could not check in their baggage, while others lost their luggage, which leads to the cancellation of some flights. Ofori (2013) claims that most of the projects fail at the closure stage due to poor control and evaluation applied during the project monitoring and controlling stage.[14] The success of a project not only depends on the timely delivery of the project but also whether the perception of the stakeholders has been met. As such, the project manager should carry effective project closure activities such as evaluation of the project in meeting the goals of the project. Besides, to effectively close a project, the project manager should effectively consult stakeholders and assess whether their expectations of the project have been met. Lastly, the project manager should consult the project team, assess the success of the project about their perception, and determine whether there can be some positive changes before closing the project.
Learning from this mistake, the redevelopment of Terminal 2 took into consideration some of the precautions that saw through its success. Before being opened to the public, Terminal 2 was subjected to operational evaluations and trial (Airport Technology 2016).[15] These evaluations were made to scrutinize whether the project has met the proposed goals as well as the BAA strategic objectives. This shows the awareness that the project had on the previously made a mistake by Terminal 5. The trials made at this stage was to see whether the project would meet all the requirements of the project’s stakeholders. The termination stage should also assess whether the project deliverables of the project objectives and plans. Along with this assessment, the project manager should determine the effective maintenance practices of the project once all the project goals and stakeholders expectations have been met. Consulting the project team is also important in ensuring that the project products and services have been successfully transferred from the team to the client and other beneficiaries of the project. As such, the evaluations made prior the opening of the Terminal 2 to the public were important in detecting any default turning the project into a productive activity.
Terminal 2’s Potential in Achieving BAA Strategic Objectives
With the precautions and project management practices that Terminal 2 is taking, it will achieve the BAA strategic objectives. The first indicator that Terminal 2 will achieve these objectives is the way the project manager carries performance measure before its commencement. Terminal 2 carries an effective project initiation and planning evaluation where ethical, and safety policies are determined and adhered to (BAA Limited 2009).[16] The fact that this project is situated in the center of the Heathrow Airport, safety measures are made to ensure that none of the stakeholders is offended by taking on effective, ethical and safety measures (Airport Technology 2016). In addition, the project outsources effective human resource who understand this environment and works hard to ensure that the blocked activities are addressed to presume in the shortest time possible.
Besides, the quest of meeting the needs of the passengers has been the key guide of the redevelopment of Terminal 2. In this case, the structures established during this redevelopment increases the performance of Heathrow Airport about the way the passengers are served. Terminal 2 provided a variety of check-in for the passengers where they can confirm their bag tags and boarding cards. Besides, the project aims at improving the security of the passengers where checking will be improved. This shows the target results of this project that are in line with the target of any project, which is to create an exclusive product or service. As such, it is the goal of the project manager to identify the prerequisite resources needed to meet the objectives of this project; thus accomplishing the BAA objectives.
Another BAA strategic objective is to sponsor an investment that will bring along unique products and services that will improve the performance of the company. In this case, the development of Terminal 2 improves the experience of the passengers who experience fewer delays and effective travel mechanisms. Lifts and escalators facilitate the movement between Terminal 2A and 2B while the four-storey building constructed in Terminal provides a car packing of 1300 vehicles. In this case, the decision made by BAA to include Terminal 2 in the investment programme is suitable for making a positive change to the Heathrow Airport. The provision of such services proves the worthiness of investing in this project allowing the airport to host a huge number of tourists as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Number of Tourists using Heathrow Airport (Heathrow 2011)
Conclusion
Indeed, it is evident that project management practices are key to the success of a project. The report has evaluated the key practices that can lead a project to success or failure. A key understanding of the project cycle has been presented as a crucial factor determining the results of the project. For instance, the Terminal 5 failed due to failure of proper evaluation of project closure. Moreover, the project closure should be based on a variety of factors apart from delivery of deliverables on time and budget. The study has affirmed this by emphasizing the importance of delivering project based on the stakeholder’s expectations. As such, the projects developed within the Heathrow investment programme will be successful by adhering to the project cycle and other determinants of a project success. This follows the unique deliverables that each of the projects has to deliver as well the availability of funds and associated resources as well as an effective performance measure that dictates the project goals and plans to achieve them.
Recommendations and Lesson Learnt
The report has stressed a lot on the masterly of the project management cycle and practices that determine the success of the project. The expected goals of the project are the ones determining the progress of the project as well as the applicable practices that will lead it to success. For instance, the report has discussed the emphasis placed on risk management as a BAA objective; thus, all the projects have to take on risk assessment of their project. Moreover, the report has emphasized on the need for concentrating on every project stage as they determine the outcome of the project. Evidently, this is shown where Terminal 5 project fails at its last stage despite the fact that it seemed successful. Reflecting on these learnings, it is good for every project manager to understand the expected goals of the project to determine the effective project management practices to use. Besides, every stage of project is of substantial importance; thus, none should be biased over the other. Moreover, the project manager should identify the stakeholders of the project and consider their concerns to ensure that despite delivering the project in time and on budget, their expectations are meet.
Bibliography
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